This invention relates generally to a process for the removal of sulfur from gases containing the same. More particularly, the invention relates to the removal of undesirable ingredients in plant waste gases, and to a procedure for removing sulfur oxides from flue and smelter gases, i.e., stack gases from sulfuric acid and elemental sulfur plants, through the use of a solid acceptor for sulfur dioxide.
Air pollution with sulfur dioxide is a major problem in the United States today. Sulfur dioxide is objectionable principally because above relatively low concentrations it is toxic to human beings and animals and is destructive to vegetation. Sulfur dioxide and its oxidation products, sulfur trioxide and sulfuric acid, are a major source of acidity in rain and fog which in turn can be very corrosive.
At the present time, the largest amount of industrial sulfur oxide emissions results from the combustion of certain types of coal and oil which contain appreciable amounts of sulfur. Waste gas streams containing sulfur dioxide similarly are produced by other industrial processes such as in the smelting of sulfur-bearing ores, the refining of sulfur-containing crude oils, the synthesis of sulfuric acid, the sulfonation of hydrocarbons, the production of coke, the production of sulfur in a Claus process, the production of paper by way of a wood-pulping process, and similar industrial processes.
Furthermore, the discharge of these gas streams containing sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere constitutes a waste of a valuable material because the sulfur contained therein is an industrial commodity. Currently, tens of millions of tons of sulfur oxides are released into the atmosphere over populated regions of the United States each year. Thus, the recovery of some of this sulfur dioxide either as such or in another form could result in the accumulation of a supply of useful chemicals of definite value.
Many processes have been proposed for removal of sulfur dioxide from these gas streams. Most of the proposed removal procedures which have been suggested utilize liquid sorption in which the sulfur dioxide containing gases are intimately contacted which an aqueous sorbent which typically contains chemicals in solution or in slurry which will react with the sulfur dioxide and absorb the same into the liquid solution. Examples of such absorbents include the oxides, hydroxides and carbonates of ammonia, the alkali metals, and the alkaline earth metals.
One disadvantage of the wet absorption process is that the absorption of the sulfur dioxide must occur at a rather low temperature. This results in cooling of the gases which are ultimately discharged to the atmosphere. Such cool gases will remain near ground level thus causing pollution of the ambient air at ground level, which may be as serious as that presented by the untreated flue gas.
Other methods have been suggested for removing sulfur oxides from flue gases. Attempts to desulfurize fuels prior to combustion have been costly and not always effective. For some fuels, such as coal, many processes investigated to date do not economically desulfurize fuel.
Additive processes have been suggested wherein materials having the ability to combine with sulfur oxides are added either to the fuel or to the combustion gases. Additives which have been employed include ammonia, soda, limestone, magnesia and magnesite, but such additives generally are costly.
Dry adsorption also has been suggested. Sulfur dioxide can be adsorbed at low temperature by materials such as aluminum oxide, activated carbon, and silica gel. A disadvantage of such adsorption process is that they also require relatively low temperatures and have similar drawbacks to those of the wet absorption process described above.
Solid acceptors which absorb sulfur oxides also have been reported. Examples of such acceptors include alkalized alumina which is converted to the aluminum sulfate and mixtures of alkali metal oxides and iron oxide which are also converted to the corresponding sulfates. One important advantage of these solid absorption processes is that they can be operated at elevated temperatures, and the gas which ultimately is discharged to the atmosphere is at an eleveted temperature and is readily dissipated in the atmosphere. There continues to be a need, however, for solid acceptors which are readily useable in commercial scale absorption processes.